The Teachings of Jesus (TOJ)

GWH · Dec 8, 2024

GWH said:

TOJ #117: Give to the poor. [MT 19:21//MK 10:21//LK 18:22] How much a person should share is not specified. The OT taught that a tithe should be given to the Lord’s “storehouse” (ML 3:8-10), but the NT teaches that people are stewards of the Lord’s property (MT 25:14) and that the Lord wants saints to give cheerfully (2CR 9:7). They should be happy to contribute a fair share, and the OT tithe seems to be a reasonable percentage (cf. TOJ #98). The goal should be for everyone to be able to earn a living (2CR 8:13-15, 2THS 3:10). {LK 12:33, 14:12-14}

TOJ #118: Materialism is anathema. [MT 19:23-24//MK 10:23-25//LK 18:24-25] It is the sin of greed that Paul equated with idolatry (CL 3:5, EPH 5:5), which is antithetical to satisfying GRS (1CR 6:10). Jesus {in LK 12:16-21} told the Parable of the Rich Young Fool to illustrate this truth. (Also see TOJ #41, 50, & 85.)

TOJ #119: God is almighty. [MT 19:26//MK 10:27//LK 18:27] He can do anything that does not contradict who He is. He chooses not to prevent evil behavior in order to preserve humanity. Statements that appear to ascribe power to prayer or faith {MT 21:22, MK 10:52, LK 17:19, 18:42} mean that God may answer prayer or work through Believers. {MT 17:20//MK 9:23}

vassal · Dec 8, 2024

GWH said:

I understand what you both are saying, but since I have never met a person with beliefs like SB, I have learned some things and amended my website as follows:

Sabbath Law

Because the NT does not affirm the Sabbath Law as it did the moral commands in the Ten Commandments, one needs to discern the correct doctrine for Christians by considering the following Scriptures.

1. God rested from His work and rested on the seventh day and made it holy per GN 2:2-3.

2. Moses promulgated the Sabbath law as the 4th of the Ten Commandments in EX 20:8-11, cf. LV 19:3&30, DT 5:12-15.

3. Solomon built a temple for burnt offerings on the Sabbath in 2CHR 2:4.

4. Isaiah said those are blessed who keep the Sabbath in IS 56:2-6.

5. Jeremiah commanded keeping the Sabbath holy in JR 17:21-27.

6. Ezekiel referred to the Sabbaths in EZK 20:12

7. Jesus declared he is Lord of the Sabbath and it is lawful to do good works on the Sabbath (MT 12:1-12) as on every day of the week.

8. Jesus worked/healed a crippled woman on the Sabbath in LK 13:10-16.

If Jesus thought keeping the Sabbath was an important law, he would have affirmed it on these two occasions, but he did not specifically nullify it either, which jibes/harmonizes perfectly with Paul.

9. Paul taught that a person may rest on the Sabbath or not in CL 2:16, GL 4:9-11 & RM 14:5.

10. HB encourages Christians to enter God’s Sabbath rest by persevering faith in 3:7-4:11.

The primary sin per the NT is transgression of GRFS (GL 3:1-14), and secondary sins are transgression of Christ’s law (JN 13:34), which summarizes the OT moral laws (MT 22:37-40) affirmed by the NT (MT 5:17-48) and calls them the fruit of the Spirit (GL 5:22-23), which does NOT include all 613 laws of Moses, such as those pertaining to mildew and infectious disease in LV 14.

Jesus fulfilled/accomplished the 613 Mosaic laws (MT 5:17-19) and taught that righteousness must surpass/supersede that of the Pharisees (MT 5:20) including Paul (ACTS 22:3-5), to whom Jesus appeared, saying “Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you… I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Paul did just that when he preached to the folks (both Jews and Gentiles per ACTS 14:1-5) in Galatia (ACTS 13:49), encouraging them to remain true to the faith (ACTS 14:22), which he reiterated in his epistle, beginning “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ… But if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (GL 1:3-9)

Paul stated the true gospel thusly, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ [the HS] lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved he and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness [holiness] could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Paul may also have written Hebrews, which warns against not entering God’s Sabbath rest by not holding firmly until the end the confidence/faith in Christ (HB 3:14, 4:2).

HB 7:11-10:1 begins as follows: “If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood, why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also… The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect, and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Such a high priest truly meets our need… the Son, who has been made perfect forever, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven… The ministry Jesus has received is superior to the old one [of Moses], since the NC is established on better promises… God said, ‘The days are coming when I will make a new covenant’ [JR 31:31-34]. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts… By calling this covenant ‘new’, he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

Thus, I hope SB's heart will become unhardened rather than continue to be calloused (MT 13:14-15), ACTS 28:26-27) by humbly considering that Jesus and Paul attended the synagogue until Jesus was crucified by the teachers of the Sabbath law (MT 26:57&27:1), and Paul founded churches to supersede them with teaching the Gospel of salvation by faith in Christ (ACTS 20:17), warning against wolves among them who would distort the Gospel as SB apparently is doing (ACTS 20:29-30) by reverting to legalism.

you are trying in vain to find a way out as there is none. SB and others here like me also do nor believe in legalism, Jesus explained very well why we should not be legalists when he called the pharisees hypocrites they added to the laws so much so that it became a burden also that they twisted the meanings, they were arrogant, hypocrites, please see Matthew 23 for full details.

indeed the application of the laws comes from the heart and at it's core we find Love. This obedience of the law is because a true believer loves God above all else and want to to what is good in the eyes of God. We are not by justified by the letter of the law but still it was given to us including the sabbath command to honour GOD and rest that day.

Know that SB always relate for everything directly from scripture in the proper context I have not in memory seen her doing anything else.

Peace.

GWH · Dec 8, 2024

vassal said:

So you say, and quackers may not be ducks, but to have proper context I encourage you to add DT 5:14, "you shall not do ANY work", CL 2:16, "Do not let anyone judge you with regard to a Sabbath Day", GL 2:21, "If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!", and GL 5:14, "The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself", along with JN 13:34-35 to your list of quotes instead of ducking them in order not to be confused with wolves.

SabbathBlessing · Dec 9, 2024

We need to reconcile Paul's writings in a way that they do not contradict what Jesus taught and lived. Everyone's favorite verse of Paul's to get rid of the Sabbath Col 2:16-17 is not at all saying what people want it to say but I will get to that in a bit.

Lets first go to what Jesus taught. He is our Rock and the foundation is built on Him, built on no other person including Paul.

Mat 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

The OT did point to Jesus just like the NT does. Everything is about Jesus.

Did Jesus delete the OT?

Not even close- Jesus said- quoting from the OT

Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus is telling us (man) to not just "hear" but live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

So Jesus is not getting rid of His law- that He personally spoke and personally wrote and told us to live by.

20 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

God promised He would not change the word of His covenant.

Exo 34: 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Psa 89:34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

Jesus keeps His promises

Mat 5: 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. which is when Jesus comes in the clouds and a new heaven and new earth and predicted by the Prophet Isaiah that has yet to be fulfilled

19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven

Jesus is the vine we are the branches if we abide in Him (not Paul)

John 15:10 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

So we are nothing unless we abide in Him.

How do we abide in Him?

John 15: 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

We need to keep His commandments for Him to abide in Him but Jesus is the ones doing through our cooperation John 14:15-18

And those who do also do this

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Who are we to abide in Jesus or Paul? Can Paul save us? No

Why Col 2:14-17 is not about the Sabbath commandment that Paul who abided in Christ also kept the Sabbath decades after the Cross in the same manner as Jesus. Luke 4:16-17, Acts 15:21 Acts 13:42 Acts 13:44 Acts 18:4 because that's what a Christian does, they follow Christ, not anyone else. Jesus is the way and always led by example keeping all of the commandments and tells us to as well.

SabbathBlessing · Dec 9, 2024

vassal said:

Yes, plus I didn't bring up the Sabbath in this thread, it was already brought up by others.

SabbathBlessing · Dec 9, 2024

There is a warning in scripture about Paul's writings, so we need to study his writings very carefully and make sure we are not using them to teach against what Jesus taught because if we miss what he is trying to say, it comes with some steep warnings, we should take serious

2 Peter 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

So lets examine Col 2:16-17.

The context starts before this so lets bring it in so we can try to figure what Paul is saying here and is he teaching something different than Jesus taught, or is there more to the story than the single verse everyone uses.

Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

So we know from these verses Paul is referring to the following

1. something handwritten
2. ordinances
3. was contrary and against
4. nailed to the cross

So if this referring to any of the Ten Commandments?

1. Was the Ten Commandments handwritten?
No: Exo 31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

2. Was the Ten Commandments called ordinances?
NO: 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. Was the Sabbath contrary and against?
Exo 20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4. Was the Sabbath nailed to the Cross?
No! Jesus in His own Words taught the Sabbath would be kept by His faithful decades after the Cross and until the second coming of Jesus Christ Mat 2:20 The Sabbath continues in the New Heaven and New Earth for His saints Isa 66:22-23

So what is Paul referring to.

There is more than one sabbath in the scripture and Paul made it so clear what he was referring to never countermanding Christ on what He taught or how he lived and what even Paul taught as he kept every Sabbath faithful as well Acts 15:21 Acts 18:4 etc

Where does Paul get the words "... against us ... contrary to us..." from, in the context of the passages he is quoting from in the Old Testament, and what does it mean there?

Deuteronomy 31:26 KJB - Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

Deuteronomy 31:28 KJB - Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.

Deuteronomy 30:19 KJB - I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Paul is referring to what was written in the book of the law handwritten by Moses set outside the ark as witness against.

The Ten Commandments finger written by God was placed inside the ark of the covenant and we are blessed when keeping Rev 22:14

What were the ordinances

Deuteronomy 31:26 KJB - Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.";
Colossians 2:14 "handwriting of ordinances";

Ephesians 2:15 "the law of commandments contained in ordinances";

Hebrews 9:1 "... also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.";

Hebrews 9:10 "... meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances ...";

Ezekiel 43:18 "... These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon."

Luke 1:6 "... walking in all the commandments and ordinances ...";

Numbers 9:12 "They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.";

2 Chronicles 33:8 "... to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses."]

It had to do with all the sacrificial system, animal sacrifices written in the book of the law- that all pointed to Jesus. There is no animal sacrifices in the Ten Commandments

Colossians 2 KJB, parallels Ephesians 2 KJB, and Hebrews 9-10 KJB. The language is the same. The "ordinances" in Colossians 2 deals with "shadows", such as the daily "meat and drink" offerings of a worldly sanctuary and carnal ordinances, the seasonal "feast days", the monthly "new moons", and the year based "sabbaths", in the singular, every 7 and 50th years, as Paul is citing Psalms 98:1-3; and Ezekiel 45:17 KJB with other texts.

The Sabbath of the LORD thy God is always called "my [as in God's] sabbaths", and the others in Leviticus 23:4 onward are called "your [the peoples] sabbaths" [Leviticus 26:35 KJB] which are "beside [given in addition to] the sabbaths of the LORD" [Leviticus 23:38 KJB]. The Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath of the 4th Commandment, are "light" [Proverbs 6:23, Isaiah 8:20, 51:4 KJB], never a "shadow", are "spiritual" [Romans 7:14 KJB], never "carnal" [Hebrews 9:10 KJB].

Colossians 2:14 - "ordinances"
Ephesians 2:15 - "law of commandments contained in ordinances"
Hebrews 9:1 - "ordinances of divine service"
Hebrews 9:10 - "carnal ordinances"

Colossians 2:16 - "in meat, or in drink" [offerings]
Hebrews 9:10 - "meats and drinks" [offerings]

Colossians 2:12 - "also ye are risen with him"
Ephesians 2:6 - "raised us up together"

Colossians 2:16 - "a shadow of things to come"
Ephesians 2:7 - "in the ages to come"
Hebrews 9:11 - "of good things to come"
Hebrews 10:1 - "the law having a shadow of good things to come", "those sacrifices", "offered year by

You can read more about this in detail here COL 2:14-17 The REAL truth from God's Word | Page 151 | Christian Forums

GWH · Dec 9, 2024

SabbathBlessing said:

We need to reconcile Paul's writings in a way that they do not contradict what Jesus taught and lived. Everyone's favorite verse of Paul's to get rid of the Sabbath Col 2:16-17 is not at all saying what people want it to say but I will get to that in a bit.

Lets first go to what Jesus taught. He is our Rock and the foundation is built on Him, built on no other person including Paul.

Mat 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

The OT did point to Jesus just like the NT does. Everything is about Jesus.

Did Jesus delete the OT?

Not even close- Jesus said- quoting from the OT

Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus is telling us (man) to not just "hear" but live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

So Jesus is not getting rid of His law- that He personally spoke and personally wrote and told us to live by.

20 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

God promised He would not change the word of His covenant.

Exo 34: 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Psa 89:34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

Jesus keeps His promises

Mat 5: 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. which is when Jesus comes in the clouds and a new heaven and new earth and predicted by the Prophet Isaiah that has yet to be fulfilled

19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven

Jesus is the vine we are the branches if we abide in Him (not Paul)

John 15:10 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

So we are nothing unless we abide in Him.

How do we abide in Him?

John 15: 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

We need to keep His commandments for Him to abide in Him but Jesus is the ones doing through our cooperation John 14:15-18

And those who do also do this

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Who are we to abide in Jesus or Paul? Can Paul save us? No

Why Col 2:14-17 is not about the Sabbath commandment that Paul who abided in Christ also kept the Sabbath decades after the Cross in the same manner as Jesus. Luke 4:16-17, Acts 15:21 Acts 13:42 Acts 13:44 Acts 18:4 because that's what a Christian does, they follow Christ, not anyone else. Jesus is the way and always led by example keeping all of the commandments and tells us to as well.

I am familiar with the Scripture you typically post, so there is no need to repeat yourself. The need is for you to incorporate the Scripture I post into your interpretation plus any new ones. Thanks.

PS, I guess you saw me welcoming what you have posted so far, but I will complain if you don’t respect my request in this post. Ttyl

vassal · Dec 9, 2024

this is where I leave this thread, censoring the truth was never a good idea. have it your way and good luck.

Censorship seeks to bury truth as one might bury a seed in soil, but truth is not bound by the earth; it is a force that grows in silence, reaching toward the light. To silence it is to misunderstand its nature, it will rise, as inevitable as thought itself.

GWH · Dec 9, 2024

vassal said:

Thanks again for helping introduce me to this way of thinking and thus helping me amend my website regarding this topic.

Happy trails until we meet again re another topic!

Pilgrimshope · Dec 9, 2024

GWH said:

amen

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;

who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

ChristRoseFromTheDead · Dec 9, 2024

vassal said:

It's impolite to make me have to scroll so much. No one reads walls of text

GWH · Dec 9, 2024

ChristRoseFromTheDead said:

Especially when the same wall is repeated ad nauseum.

GWH · Dec 10, 2024

GWH said:

TOJ #120: Heavenly society is the opposite of earthly vanity. [MT 19:30//MK 10:31//LK 13:30] Galatians 3:28 and James 2:1-5 give us a glimpse. Instead of a divine dictator, we will find heaven ruled by a suffering servant {MT 21:31-32, MK 12:38-40, LK 16:15, 22:25-27}. Jesus made this point when He went to eat at a Pharisee’s house {LK 14:11} and in the Parable of the Two Prayers {LK 18:14}. A memorable portrayal of this teaching is when Jesus washed His disciple’s feet {JN 13:5-17}. {MT 11:8-19//LK 7:33-35} (Also see TOJ #125.)

TOJ #121: Salvation is God’s gift. [MT 20:1-16&23//MK 10:35-45] Eternal life is given to all who believe, and it is wrong to seek a superior status (TOJ #116).

TOJ #122: Whoever is not against Christ is on God’s side. [MK 9:40//LK 9:50] Morality is a duality. Reality is designed so there are only two spiritual/moral poles or sides (not an ethical Yin-Yang). The phrase “in my/your name” indicates that the person was a Believer but was not one of the Twelve. Perhaps one could consider him as foreshadowing denominations in the Church.

Different flavors of Christianity are fine (as are truth-seeking souls at different places along the pilgrim path between God-consciousness and hearing the Gospel of Jesus), and various Christian organizations working in harmony is a great witness, but the sin of denominationalism begins when factional strife develops (1CR 3:3-9). Comparing this TOJ with #40, perhaps the synthesis is that if we do not decide, God will know why, so we should have a good reason for not being with Jesus (and there is none). {JN 3:18}

GWH · Dec 13, 2024

Jesus’ Teachings in Judea through His Ascension
(MT 20:1-ACTS 1:8 & // passages plus JN)

Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem (MT 21:1, MK 11:1, LK 19:28) is recorded in all three synoptic gospels.

TOJ #123: Bear good fruit. [MT 21:19//MK 11:14] We can be confident that the Master of the universe was not concerned about an unfruitful tree, but rather He wanted to teach unfruitful people, specifically the Jewish leaders, their destiny. He did this more elaborately in the next TOJ. Also see TOJ #102 & #152. His prayer regarding them is found in John 15:1-8.

TOJ #124: God will reject Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah. [MT 21:33-44//MK 12:1-10//LK 20:9-18] Jesus taught this truth in the Parable of the Tenants and in the Parable of the Wedding or Great Banquet {MT 22:1-8//LK 14:16-24}. The “people who will produce” (21:4) and “anyone you find” (22:9) are Believers, both Jews and Gentiles (RM 2:9-11; cf. TOJ #49 & #84).

God chose the nation of Israel for the purpose of procreating Messiah, but ironically and tragically most of them did not recognize Jesus (JN 1:11) as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies (MT 23:37-39; TOJ #137).

GWH · Dec 14, 2024

Does anyone want to guess how many TOJ will be enumerated before I am through listing them? :^)

TOJ #125: Social status is irrelevant in God’s kingdom. [MT 22:9-10] “Good” refers to the “in crowd” and “bad” to the “dregs of society”. {MT 21:28-32, MK 12:43-44, LK 18:9-14, 21:1-4} This is a significant alternate wording of TOJ #120.

TOJ #126: Sinners/Unbelievers will not be allowed in heaven. [MT 22:11-13] This rather vague statement is made clear by two OT passages (ZPH 1:8, ZCH 3:4). A couple of NT passages are also relevant (CL 3:12, 1PT 5:5). Only saved sinners or saints (who share the righteousness of Christ) will be in Paradise (PHP 3:8-14; TOJ #74, #114).

TOJ #127: Marriage is an earthly institution. [MT 22:29-30] Procreation will be passe, and genetic families will be superseded by the spiritual and universal family of God. People who idolize sex (see TOJ #109) will be enslaved by this passion until their minds are renewed (RM 1:24-32, 12:2).

GWH · Wednesday at 6:55 PM

TOJ #128: Believers will be resurrected. [MT 22:31-32//MK 12:27] Jesus was the first-fruits (1CR 15:20-23), who provides hope that this brief and often tragic existence on earth is not a farce {JN 6:39-40, 14:1-4}. (See TOJ #94.)

TOJ #129: The law of love summarizes God’s moral will. [MT 22:37-39//MK 12:29-31] Although this law has two applications (love for God and love for people, including oneself), these are combined and enumerated as one to show that they coexist (1JN 4:20-21). This law (DT 6:5, LV 19:18) summarizes all of God’s moral commandments as Paul also taught (GL 5:14).

Jesus commanded His disciples to love {JN 13:34, 15:12&17}. Love is the sign that a soul is a Spirit-filled Christian (TOJ #148, cf. #113). Elsewhere (PR 6:16, RM 12:9) it is taught that God and godly people should hate evil. Of course, Jesus’ instruction to “hate” one’s own life and family (LK 14:26) means to love God foremost (TOJ #50).

TOJ #130: Love is the key to understanding GW/truth. {MT 22:40} And the key to comprehending God’s love is Jesus (JN 3:16, RM 5:8, 1JN 4:10-5:5; TOJ #47).

GWH · Friday at 9:43 AM

TOJ #131: Messiah/Christ is Lord/God the Son. [MT 22:43-45] (See TOJ #1, #7 & #52.) We can see that several TOJ comprise this complex concept, which is meant by such phrases as “accept Jesus” or “believe in Him”. {JN 3:15-18} Jesus affirmed His Lordship {JN 13:13}, and this belief became the normative way to satisfy GRFS in Paul’s writings (RM 10:9, 2CR 4:5).

TOJ #132: Do not reject truth because of unworthy teachers. [MT 23:2-4] Jesus is the only sinless person (HB 4:8-10). We must learn to discern between the message and the messenger, but only teachers who typically practice what they preach are qualified to be spiritual leaders (1TM 3:1-13). We should be aware that the devil himself can “masquerade as an angel of light” (2CR 11:14),

TOJ #133: Do not view anyone as an intercessor between you and God. [MT 23:8-10] All Believers are saints and priests (1PT 2:9, RV 1:6, see TOJ #126), but only Jesus is worthy to be revered as Rabbi and Father. or Pope. This also applies when praying (TOJ #32) and LGW. It is wrong for a pastor to presume that he/she is the only person in a church who has the proper understanding of GW, but many preachers do not encourage feedback or constructive criticism of their sermons (later in private, of course).

(Does anyone want to guess how many more TOJ there are? :^)

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